He set the cookie on his napkin and went to open the door. He took a step back as he absorbed the sight in front of him. It was seven people wearing black from head to toe, including the bandannas covering their noses and mouths. They looked like an octogenarian set of bank robbers.
From the back of the group, he heard the distinct sound of duct tape being unrolled. Was that … Don? He had a maniacal gleam in his eye.
Until someone—Nancy?—elbowed him hard in the ribs. “Isaidno duct tape.”
“He might not come otherwise,” Don muttered.
“Come where?” Asher asked, his eyes narrowed on each of them. Now that he wasn’t so surprised at the unexpected sight, he recognized every single one of them. Including Winnie, who stood a bit off to the side. He gave her a quizzical glance, wishing they were alone and he could ask her about Eliana.
“To the association meeting, mijo,” Rosa said.
“This is a kidnapping,” Walt complained in Rosa’s general direction. “We shouldn’t use terms of endearment.”
“Oh, sorry.” Rosa turned back to Asher. “To the association meeting, youblackguard.”
Harry and Polly both stifled a laugh, which earned them a glare from Don. “Take this seriously.”
Asher scrubbed an exhausted hand over his face. He didn’t know what a blackguard was—and was pretty sure he didn’t want to know. “I’m actually planning on heading over to the meeting right now.”
“Oh. Well.” That seemed to deflate Don. He stuck the duct tape into his backpack. Asher spotted rope in there too. He definitely didn’t want to get on Don’s bad side. Ever.
“That’s a bit anticlimactic,” Polly whispered loudly. “What do we do now?”
“I’ll go with him and make sure he’s not lying,” Don said with narrowed eyes.
Asher frowned. “Why in the world would I lie—”
“The rest of you continue with Part B,” Don said over him. “We’ll reconvene in thirty minutes. Godspeed.”
And with that, Don took him by the arm in a firm, no-nonsense grip and marched him down the stairs in a take-no-prisoners kind of way.
“What is going—”
“No questions,” Don barked, and Asher clamped his mouth shut.Okaaaay. It wasn’t like Asher had anywhere else to be or anything else to do—he didn’t even know where he was going to live since he never got Julia’s keys from Eliana. This was what his life had come too—being bullied around by retirees—and he didn’t hate it.
Even though Don hadn’t used the blindfold, or the ropes, or the duct tape, and Asher couldprobablytake him in a fight, he followed along and felt very much like Don was a determined pirate walking Asher to the plank.
Chapter 41
“The emerging woman ... will be strong-minded, strong-hearted, strong-souled, and strong-bodied...strength and beauty must go together.” —Louisa May Alcott
Elianasatinhercar, parked next to Asher’s motorcycle in his usual, hidden spot and pulled out her phone. Part of her hoped Asher would come out here, and she’d get to see him again.
She fully planned on ducking low so he didn’t see her, if that happened. But a girl could hope.
She’d attempted to take her grandpa’s advice and tackle her problems at her parents’ house, but it had been way too loud. It was amazing how much noise three people could make—plus driving around town, looking for the perfect hiding spot seemed like a really great idea.
But she couldn’t stall anymore. She opened her email from her agent and read through it. It was exactly as she suspected—her book was being dropped unless she could offer a believable explanation for what that video showed.
She tried to think of an explanation—something, anything. She tripped and fell into his arms and they mistook her look of gratitude for adoration. He was her fake, fake boyfriend and she was a really good actor. Send her to Hollywood!
She groaned and opened her video messages. She clicked on Giselle’s first. Her smiling face popped up on screen, looking as amazing and put-together as ever.
“Hey, I saw the VIDEO and heard about what happened with your BOOK.”
Eliana paused the video. How had Giselle heard anything about the book? Eliana had just read the email a second ago. She frowned and pressed play again.
“I’m SO SORRY! I’m here for you if you need ANYTHING. If you want me to share your story so you don’t have to, let me know. Also, WHO is the guy? I’m DYING to hear all about it. Message me back soon.”
